How to create a sustainable content strategy

this post answers the following questions
1. Why should we first have a realistic content strategy?
2. Why content strategy focuses on customers wants?
3. How do you stick to your content strategy?
4. What are the 2 option you have if you don’t have a content Writer in your company?
5. Are customer service and sales really important in your content strategy?

You have a lot of expertise. You know your industry, your business, and your customer needs, so it should be relatively easy to share information that relates to all three of these on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, content strategies are often abandoned by the very people who were so enthusiastic about them. Following these simple guidelines can help you create a content strategy that will stand the test of time and deliver the ROI that you expect.

1. Be realistic

Lack of realism can kill a content strategy before it’s even begun. If you run a very niche business, it is unreasonable to expect an enormous audience. Likewise, if you run a business with 10 employees it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to put out 5 pieces of content every single day.
Be realistic about your resources and your audience, and build a plan that will be achievable. Remember that quality rules, so it is far better to create less frequent, quality posts than a lot of low quality content.

This applies to topics and platforms. If you sell fashion shoes, it is probably best to create a fashion blog rather than posting information on how your shoes are made and cobbling tips. Likewise, if you have a consumer audience that doesn’t rely on you for expertise it would be a good idea to avoid very long and highly-informative posts about your industry. Put simply, figure out what your audience wants and give it to them.

3. Give it time

The first few weeks of blogging are by far the most frustrating. It can be incredibly discouraging to spend hours crafting a post, only to find out that 3 people read it (and one of them was your mum). Even if you have a sizeable facebook audience, it will take time for people to find your blog or realise that it is a useful resource. You just have to push through and give them more and more reasons to visit.

4. Stick to it

If you have a realistic content strategy and focuses on your customer needs, building a solid audience is simply a matter of time and marketing. Stick to your strategy, and make sure that you keep posting according to your schedule. You may realise that you have chosen a platform that isn’t popular among your customers, or maybe your subject rotation needs to be tweaked. There is nothing wrong with making small changes to your strategy as you learn more about your audience. Just don’t give up altogether!

5. Share the load

If you do not have a dedicated blogger within your company, you have 2 main options: 1) outsource, or 2) share the work among your departments. Outsourcing means that you can simply communicate your overall plan and receive regular content, which takes most of the pain out of the content creation process. If you prefer to keep this in-house, you can share the responsibility among your various departments.

Customer services will have a unique insight into customer problems and will be able to provide informative and valuable information. Sales will know exactly how to present your product and connect with the audience. Gathering information from your various departments will result in varied and fresh content. If you take this approach, just make sure that you have somebody to review the text and ensure that it adheres to your brand guidelines.

This guest blog post was written by Valeria Kogan

Valeria Kogan is the person behind Digital Writing. Before founding the copywriting and branding consultancy, Valeria was a published author and editor. She currently works with a number of firms to create copy and develop their marketing strategies. You can connect with Valeria via twitter at @digicopywriting

Comments

by creating Sustainable Content Strategy it will help you analyze what types of content are best suited for you and begin to create and curate expert pieces designed for those that already know you, and customers waiting to be found and by this you will work very efficiently and effectively.